Eco-label - the driving force for green, sustainable production
At the seminar to promote sustainable production and consumption through "eco-brands" organized by Tien Phong newspaper in coordination with the Department of Environment, Mr. Le Hoai Nam - Deputy Director of the Department of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that green labels and ecological labels are important environmental policy tools, successfully applied by many countries such as Korea, Japan, China, Thailand or European countries. This tool helps businesses convert from polluting products to green products, while supporting consumers to access friendly goods and protect their health.
In Vietnam, the legal system on green labels was formed from the Law on Environmental Protection 2005, 2014 and finalized in the Law 2020. In 2009, the pilot program was implemented, focusing on two product groups: products certified as Vietnam green label and environmentally friendly plastic bags (including decomposable bags and recycled bags).
According to Mr. Nam, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) has issued specific criteria for these groups, some enterprises have been granted certificates but the quantity is still limited. The main reason is that domestic business capacity is still weak, there is a lack of resources for technological innovation, preferential policies are unclear, many new regulations stop at the law without guidance documents. For example, the Law stipulates an environmental protection tax of VND40,000/kg for non-degradable plastic bags, to limit the production and encourage the use of biological bags. However, in reality, many small businesses still evade taxes and continue to produce this type of bag.
Tax and fee policies for environmentally friendly products and projects
At the seminar, Mr. Trinh Quang Hung - Head of the Department of Property Tax, Natural Resources Tax, Environmental Protection Tax - Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision - Ministry of Finance said that environmental-related tax, fee and charge policies have always been of interest to the Party and the State, clearly expressed in laws, decrees and specific regulations.
Directly related to ecological labels, the 2010 Environmental Protection Tax Law stipulates that plastic bags are subject to a tax of VND 10,000 - 50,000/kg. According to Decree 67/2011/ND-CP, environmentally friendly plastic bags are not subject to tax, while types of bags that cause pollution will be subject to high tax rates.
According to Mr. Hung, regarding corporate income tax, current policies have many incentives for industries and environmental protection projects. Enterprises are exempt from tax on income from transferring initial emission reduction certificates, tax exemptions for socialized facilities in the environmental field, and tax incentives for investment projects in renewable energy production, clean energy, waste treatment, energy-saving products or projects implemented in disadvantaged socio-economic areas.
Green transformation: An inevitable trend but ecological labeling is still limited
Mr. Nguyen Trung Thang - Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Agriculture and Environment said that green transformation is an inevitable trend when the world is facing three major environmental crises at the same time. Vietnam has a fairly complete policy framework, from the 13th Congress Documents, Resolution 24, National Action Plan on Circular Economy to the Vietnam Eco-label Program implemented since 2009.
Consumer awareness has also changed as 86% of Vietnamese people are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, 62% of purchase decisions are affected by the green commitment of businesses. In addition, increasingly strict FTAs and environmental requirements from the EU, the US, Japan, and China, along with the trend of digital transformation, AI application is creating pressure and opportunities for the transformation process.
However, the results of applying ecological labels after more than 20 years are still modest. By 2017, Vietnam had 17 Green Brand criteria, of which 7 criteria were applied to 112 products; in the period of 2024 - 2025, only 13 more products were certified. Domestic consumers are still more concerned about food safety, while technological barriers, costs and administrative procedures continue to be major obstacles.
